Hard drinking college students may be damaging their DNA Show Notes

Weekends spent drinking and partying may seem like harmless fun for young adults, but new research has revealed that this level of alcohol consumption may actually damage their DNA.

The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse states that around four out of five college students in the US drink alcohol, and almost 2,000 college students die each year as a result of unintentional alcohol-related injuries.

According to Medical News Today, researchers in Mexico set out to analyze the oxidative damage caused by drinking alcohol in young, healthy people. Oxidative damage is considered damage to proteins, membranes and DNA.

For the study, researchers recruited individuals between the ages of 18 and 23, who were then split into two groups. One group was required to drink an average of 1.5 liters of alcohol each weekend, and the other group did not drink any alcohol.

The researchers found the drinkers had twice as much oxidative damage to their cell membranes compared to the non-drinkers.

By the way, if you’re the parent of a teenager, here’s something you should know.

The American Medical Association has found that a large percentage of teens who drink get the booze from their own parents.

25 percent of parents surveyed admitted to allowing their child to drink under their supervision.

And get this--One out of 12 parents said that they allowed their child’s friends to drink in their own home—often serving the alcohol themselves.

So even if you set a healthy example in your home, it’s anybody’s guess what may happen when your son or daughter visits a friend’s home.